Some people run away from marriage. Others run away to get married ... to a teenaged construction worker. And that’s what 18-year-old Maribel did. She abandoned her family in Florida and ran off to Montauk, New York, to marry her high school sweetheart, Julio. Maribel’s parents – mom Lastenia, and especially dad Roberto – are not happy. They’ll make the trip up the coast to see Maribel graduate from high school, but they won’t stick around for the nuptials. Nothing would have made Roberto prouder than to walk his daughter down the aisle, but he says, “I’m very hurt, so I can’t be over there like that.” It would have meant a lot to him, if she hadn’t run away from home. “You didn’t say goodbye – nothing. It still hurts.” Maribel did leave a note before she slipped out the door, but that’s not really the same.

Runaways have feelings too, and Maribel is distraught at this turn of events. Julio tries to cheer her up by pointing out all of the good things she has coming up: “the prom, graduation, the wedding.” It’s a trifecta of underage events for teenage girls, but Maribel’s still shedding tears. Regardless of her current distress, Julio believes that “everything’s going to be okay,” and maybe one day her father will accept their marriage. But, can Julio really accept them as in-laws?

Maribel’s high school graduation takes place two weeks before the wedding, and her mom and dad roll into town, as promised. Maribel is “scared” and worried about what they’re going to say. It’s been nine months since she’s seen them, and she thinks they might try to change her mind about marriage. That’s on Julio’s mind, too. He knows they’re going to bring up that Maribel left, and that “I ruined your life.” Still, Julio doesn’t feel anything about seeing her father. “If he stays out of my way, I’ll stay out of his.” Uh-oh.

One way to keep Julio out of everyone’s way is to leave him at home while Maribel agrees to meet her family at a local restaurant. The hugs are barely over and the tears are hardly dry when Roberto wants to know when Maribel’s “going to come back home ... and stay for the rest of your life.” Apparently, Maribel made a promise to her dad when she was eight years old: that “I would never leave” and “I want to be with you forever.” Roberto’s going to try to hold Maribel to that promise, because the family was not happy when she left, and they’re not happy that she’s getting married.

Roberto would’ve liked for Maribel first to have gone to college, and then have Julio ask him for her hand in marriage. “That would’ve been the right way to do it.” Unfortunately for dear old dad, Julio “is everything” that his daughter’s ever wanted. She’s sorry that she just left after only knowing Julio a couple of months, but “what do you want me to do?” Obviously, she wasn’t listening just now.

Roberto has good news and bad news for his daughter. The good news is that he’s coming back for the wedding. But Maribel’s mom is going to have to stay back in Florida, because “financially, we can’t all come.” It would also help things if the man who took away their daughter would call them once in a while. For Lastenia, “It’s going to be very hard for me to get close to Julio.” She “lost trust in him” because of what happened. Guys, never run away with a girl from a close-knit family.

On graduation day, Maribel is all cap-and-gown smiles, but things get a little dicey at the post-grad celebration barbecue. Julio’s family thinks he “has it all” with Maribel and his good job in construction, but Maribel’s family obviously thinks she can do better. Like all underage weddings with unhappy family members, the meal is a combination of shish kebabs, hurt feelings, and uncomfortable silences. Things didn’t turn out quite the way Lastenia and Roberto expected: “We just need some time.” Roberto still hopes Maribel will go to college and “make something better for yourself.” Ooooh, he’s looking at you, Julio!